Pregnancy support workers find their calling helping women

For many low-income women, pregnancy can lead to more stress than excitement. Most of the expecting mothers who visit local health departments are facing unplanned pregnancies.

Maternal care coordinators across the state have experienced firsthand all possible emotions along with the patients they support.

“I have a box of Kleenex in my office that I just leave here,” said Courtney McLaughlin, maternal care coordinator for Jackson County.

As part of the Baby Love program, maternal care coordinators contact patients once a month to check in throughout the pregnancy and up to two months after the mom delivers.

“Nine times out of 10, you’re their support system,” said Vicki James, maternal care coordinator for Haywood County. “You talk to them just like you do your own kid.”

Often times the father of the baby isn’t involved or the parents have turned their back on their pregnant daughter. So James picks up the slack and provides advice like a mother would.

She advises women on where to buy cribs, tells them how often they should see their doctor, and answers questions about what is or isn’t normal during a pregnancy.

James has made a lot of friends through her work, but the job comes with many ups and downs.

“It’s very rewarding, it’s very frustrating,” said James.

Jackson County, one of the few counties in the area to have a high-risk prenatal clinic, routinely sees extreme social work cases. Some expecting mothers are dealing with weighty issues, like sexual and physical abuse.

“You don’t know until you make a home visit what this pregnant girl is going through,” said Charlene Carswell, prenatal clinic coordinator for Haywood County.

Adrienne Maurin, a licensed therapist at Jackson’s health department, said she’s recently treated a pregnant woman who was just recovering from a substance abuse problem while simultaneously battling a mental illness.

Others have no psychological issues but come to Maurin just to vent their frustrations.

“They say, ‘I’m pregnant, and I don’t have a job, and I can’t get a job because I’m pregnant,’” said Maurin. “That causes a lot of stress for most of the ladies.

Of course, not all women who visit the health department have unhappy endings to their stories.

Carswell recalled a teenager who was petrified about her mother discovering that she was pregnant.

“Several of us cried with her,” said Carswell. “She was in a state.”

But when her mother found out, she was supportive, and to top it off, the baby’s father re-entered the picture.

James remembered one Hispanic woman who prepared a generous meal for her when she paid a visit, even though the woman had little to feed her own family.

“We had already ate, but we ate again,” said James, who was touched by the kind gesture.

James has seen women from all backgrounds, education and income levels and says there’s no stereotype for the kind of woman who takes advantage of the health department’s services, especially since the economic downturn.

Many who come in are finding it difficult to purchase basic baby supplies, like diapers, carseats and cribs — none of which is covered by Medicaid for Pregnant Women. Maternal care coordinators help provide some of those supplies, though their resources are quickly drying up.

“I’ve seen moms who have slept a baby in a laundry basket or a drawer,” said McLaughlin. Others share a bed with their baby, sometimes leading to cases of suffocation.

Maurin said she worries about her patients quite a bit, especially about the risks of post-partem depression.

“They are more prone to it because of the level of poverty,” said Maurin.